How to Save A Life
by obsessivereader95
Summary: Just a short drabble between Phil Coulson and Tony while Tony's dying in the second Iron Man movie. It was too short and no one seemed to question how oddly close but strangely detached they were from each other. Not my best work... Movie-verse, of course. NOT meant to be slash. Oneshot. Moved to Avengers because it has Coulson listed as a character.


**Did anybody else notice that Coulson and Stark seemed a bit closer than you'd expect when Coulson is** **transferred? Well, since I have this sick fascination with emotional, overly-dramatic scenes, I have** **decided to pan out a bit of what may have happened (almost certainly didn't) in the short period that** **Tony was under house-arrest. I don't think I did a great job with it, but I'm posting it anyway. CONSTRUCTIVE feedback, please! I don't want people telling me I suck and not telling me how to make it better. If you can't think of how to make it better because it sucks that bad to you, then please refrain from commenting. This is NOT MEANT TO BE SLASH! I don't have anything against you viewing it that way, but please do not comment about Tony and Phil's sexuality.  
**

_**.II naM norI nwo ton od I**_

_"I would have stayed up with you all night had I known how to save a life." -"How to Save a Life"_

Darkness was beginning to engulf the edges of Tony's vision, grey spots popping in and out of view. The burning pain of the palladium coursing through his veins and arteries was creeping along his neck, forcing his posture into ramrod straightness uncommon in a sick person's usual manner.

SHIELD Agent Phil Coulson watched the genius work with morbid curiosity. This was a man in the throes of death, barely clinging to life through the low-dosages of anti-palladium. As the agent swiftly took in his charge's stiffness, he sighed. Tony Stark seemed reluctant to ask anyone else for help. Coulson was sure that, had he not been coerced by a SHIELD agent with a taser to save his own life, he would have already given up. It seemed the sarcastic man had already lost hope of ever regaining his health.

But Fury hadn't given up yet, and if Fury believed in him, everyone but the council would follow to Stark's last, dying breath.

Stark's posture suddenly slumped. Coulson leapt into action, syringe (filled to the brim with the mysterious substance that gave temporary relief) poised and ready in his hand. Stark's body was starting another seizure in reaction to the foreign palladium. Coulson winced at the sight of the darkening, visible veins running up his neck and into his hairline. He administered the shot quickly and efficiently, and then backed away before the genius could wake up again.

These "episodes," as Tony called them, were becoming more frequent and more dangerous. Tony was starting to forget things that mattered. He would often wake to find himself in the agent's arms, being towed to a small but luxurious cot in the corner. If it got to be that bad, Coulson usually had to sit next to him and remind him what he was doing, why he was doing it, and for whom he needed to do it. Reading up on the reports, the SHIELD agent had thought that Stark would want to live for himself or to spite someone. As hours wore on, he found out that the billionaire needed to be reminded of Pepper, Rhodey, and the heartbreak that he would leave in his wake if he were to disappear off the face of the Earth again.

As a field agent, he did not let himself become attached to the man, but as Phil Coulson he felt an unnecessary amount of hope that the dying genius would pull through. Tony Stark, the billionaire and world-class playboy, began slip away, leaving a modern-day genius struggling to cling to life for the sake of two people who thought he was just being more irresponsible than usual and a world that thought he only cared about his ego and alcohol.

Phil made his way back to the storage of anti-palladium and wrinkled his nose in disgust. Tony Stark, self-absorbed jerk though he was, did not deserve to die in the solemn company of someone ordered to render him unconscious should he make one move for the door. He loaded the next syringe with twice the recommended dosage, knowing that the worst it could do was end Tony's suffering a few hours earlier than planned.

Half an hour later, he plunged it into the shaking and prone figure in the chair facing the projector screen. The tremors stopped instantly, and Tony slumped into the cushions. Coulson backed away into his corner, nervously flicking the side of the needle before capping it. Stark sat up slowly, looking around in a slightly disoriented fashion. Tony's eyes fixed on the screen and then looked down at something in his fingers. Coulson walked discreetly up the stairs and sat on a couch in one of the upstairs living rooms. When Tony made his way up another half hour later, the SHIELD agent tried his best to feign sleep.

Of course, the genius saw through it and whispered a soft "thanks" before taking his leave.

Later, when a furious director questioned him about allowing Stark to leave, his only response was, "He needed it."

He was reassigned immediately. Stark seemed mildly disappointed.

When he watched the news reels and hidden SHIELD recordings, he couldn't help but smile. Tony Stark, sarcastic billionaire with his whole arsenal of sharp quips, had made it against all odds again.

**I know it's a horrible ending. Please don't flame me. It's** **just a short drabble that holds no real significance… I just liked Coulson a lot and felt he needed some more stories/mindless drabbles.**


End file.
